TAREE parkrun fell just short of registering a record one day attendance at the event held in conjunction with Youth Week last Saturday. A total of 173 starters completed the 5km run on the Manning River Foreshore. "Our record is 187,'' parkrun run director Margie Lewis said. However, Margie said the Easter Saturday run usually attracts big numbers and the record could go this week. The run was part of MidCoast Council's Youth Week program, with young people filling the volunteer positions. Emily Burge, Maddison Chippett, Ava Clinch, Olivia Dawson, Jessica Dreyer, Madeline Dreyer, Jack Eschbach, Emma Eschbach, Abbey Harrison, Lily Harrison, Brooke Hosgood, Amber Nicholls and Cass Searles took on the volunteering roles. The run was also included as part of MidCoast Council's Youth Week Passbook initiative. Margie said there were a large number of first time runners and she hopes they'll now become regulars. "The weather was perfect and that obviously helped,'' she said. Margie explained that only starters who complete the two laps and 5kms count as finishers. "There were a lot there last Saturday who only did the one lap,'' she said. "That's fine - we encourage people to do that - just to get out there and enjoy the morning.'' Parkrun started in Taree in May 2015 and Margie said the average number of runners per week stands at 111. Saturday's run was the 206th held in Taree. "Since Christmas we've been averaging around 130,'' Margie added. "We didn't even lose numbers on the hot days. It's rare for us not to have at least 130 there each Saturday.'' Taree parkrun will celebrate its fourth anniversary on Saturday May 25.